Half of Manila under water, airport shut down

A second day of heavy rain in Manila and the island of Luzon caused the floods in the Philippine capital to worsen. Half of the city is now submerged with partly waist-deep and even neck-deep water, and public life has come to a standstill as offices, shops, schools and many shopping malls remained closed, as well as the financial market and banks. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response, and public transport was widely stopped.

Power supplier Manila Electric Co., or Meralco, on August 20 shut down power in flooded areas in Metro Manila and neighbouring provinces for safety reasons, leaving around 130,000 customers without electricity.

Several dams in Luzon were forced to open their flood gates because of rising waters and thousands of residents downstream were told to move. La Mesa Dam in Quezon City, which supplies most of Metro Manila with potable water, reached its spilling level of midday August 20. Residents living along the downstream river were warned to evacuate.

The government has set up 200 evacuation centers in Manila and surrounding provinces which are already filled with tens of thousands of people. So far, at least 7 people died in the floods, 11 were injured and 4 are missing. Tourists had to be evacuated from northern parts of the country.

All foreign and domestic flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport were put on hold on August 20 because most of the access roads to the airport were impassable. Some terminal ramps were also flooded.

Economists say the flood disaster will cost the Philippines billions of dollars, with the additional problem that investors might rethink setting up shop in the flood-prone country that is one of the most typhoon-battered regions on Earth.

A second day of heavy rain in Manila and the island of Luzon caused the floods in the Philippine capital to worsen. Half of the city is now submerged with partly waist-deep and even neck-deep water, and public life has come to a standstill as offices, shops, schools and many shopping malls remained closed, as well as the financial market and banks. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response, and public transport was widely stopped.

Power supplier Manila Electric Co., or Meralco, on August 20 shut down power in flooded areas in Metro Manila and neighbouring provinces for safety reasons, leaving around 130,000 customers without electricity.

Several dams in Luzon were forced to open their flood gates because of rising waters and thousands of residents downstream were told to move. La Mesa Dam in Quezon City, which supplies most of Metro Manila with potable water, reached its spilling level of midday August 20. Residents living along the downstream river were warned to evacuate.

The government has set up 200 evacuation centers in Manila and surrounding provinces which are already filled with tens of thousands of people. So far, at least 7 people died in the floods, 11 were injured and 4 are missing. Tourists had to be evacuated from northern parts of the country.

All foreign and domestic flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport were put on hold on August 20 because most of the access roads to the airport were impassable. Some terminal ramps were also flooded.

Economists say the flood disaster will cost the Philippines billions of dollars, with the additional problem that investors might rethink setting up shop in the flood-prone country that is one of the most typhoon-battered regions on Earth.